Fantasy Golf Picks

While Erik Planer works on the new Rotoff Fantasy Sports site, I’ll be the guest expert. In addition to leading the Beat the Expert Leaderboard for much of the season, I’ve been covering various fantasy sports for the last two years. I’m currently in the 96th percentile in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf game and finished in the 92nd percentile last year. You can follow me on Twitter @ericmcclung where I post my Y! lineup on a weekly basis.

As I hold down the fort, the BTE game will continue to roll on. Here’s the point scale:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 Greenbrier Classic.  If you Beat The Expert in any week you will win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit (a $9.99 value) with one possible Grand Prize winner at the end of the FedEx Cup season.  See here for official BTE rules.

I finally scored some points during my stint doing the expert picks. I led the way with four points: three for Luke Donald’s podium finish and one more for Matt Kuchar’s Top 10. Now just seven points behind the leader, I’m hoping to reclaim the top spot as my tenure comes to a close.

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

Sparked by a 10-under 60 in the third round, Carl Pettersson won the RBC Canadian Open by one stroke. The Swede missed the cut at the John Deere Classic but finished sixth at the AT&T National with a third round 65. He’s in the field this week at a course where another super-low round could win it.

Runner-up Dean Wilson fired three straight 65s before shooting +2 on Sunday to lose by a stroke. In six prior starts, Wilson had missed five cuts so this strong showing came as a shock. He’s also in the field but will need to show consistency on a regular basis before getting consideration in fantasy circles.

Luke Donald finished third by shooting all four rounds in the 60s. Going back to The Open Championship, the Brit has now shot six straight sub-70 rounds.

Nine players tied for fourth, topped by Greg Chalmers, Michael Letzig and Charley Hoffman who all shot 65s on Sunday which put them in a tie for the best score on the final day.

Paul Casey was my only pick to not record points in Canada. Things started off well with a 2-under 68 but his 3-over 73 put him just a couple of stokes outside of making the cut.

This week:

Sitting in the scenic Allegheny Mountains, The Greenbrier is an exquisite luxury resort located in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. The site was built in 1778 and has hosted many presidents and noted dignitaries. During the Cold War a large underground bunker was built as an emergency shelter for the United States Congress in the event of an emergency.

In 1914, The Old White Course became the first of four golf courses to be built on the grounds. The original design was done by Charles B. Macdonald, the man who coined the term “golf architect”. Macdonald drew much of his inspiration for several of the holes from time spent touring courses in Europe.

In an effort to bring a PGA Tour event to The Greenbrier, the course was remodeled several years ago to blend it’s classic design with today’s game. The field will find large fairways and numerous short holes, which will marginalize the need for long distance drives.

1.  Matt Kuchar

I see no reason to jump off Kuchar’s bandwagon now. He’s still first in All-Around Ranking and is coming off a T4 in the RBC Canadian Open. He now has seven finishes of 14th or better in his last 11 starts and three finishes of eighth or better in his last four. Kuchar’s 114th Driving Distance rating won’t matter on this course but his seventh ranked Scoring Average, 14th ranked Greens in Regulation Percentage and 18th ranked Birdie Average will all play very nicely.

2.  Jeff Overton

In his last nine starts, Overton has six finishes of 12th or better in addition to four Top Threes. He did miss two cuts in that time so there is a small degree of risk but the potential reward is well worth it. Overton is 16th in All-Around Ranking thanks to ranks of 31st of better in Driving Distance, Eagles, Putting, Greens in Regulation, Scoring and Birdies.

3.  Charley Hoffman

Currently playing his best golf of the year, Hoffman is peaking at just the right time. In his last last five starts, he’s shot at least two rounds of every tournament in the 60s. Hoffman has set new season-best finishes in his last two outings, T7th in the John Deere Classic and T4th in last week’s RBC Canadian Open. Sitting eighth in All-Around Ranking with ranks of 12th in Eagles, 21st in Birdies and 23rd in Putting, Hoffman has every tool needed to capture this inaugural event.

Fantasy Golf Picks

While Erik Planer works on the new Rotoff Fantasy Sports site, I’ll be the guest expert for the next two PGA Tour events. In addition to leading the Beat the Expert Leaderboard for much of the season, I’ve been covering various fantasy sports for the last two years. I’m currently in the 96th percentile in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf game and finished in the 92nd percentile last year. As I hold down the fort, the BTE game will continue to roll on. Here’s the point scale:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open.  If you Beat The Expert in any week you will win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit (a $9.99 value) with one possible Grand Prize winner at the end of the FedEx Cup season.  See here for official BTE rules.

Five players picked up points last week. Mr. Planer led the way with five points for runner-up Lee Westwood. Cameron and Books got three points each for their picks of third-place shareholders Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey. Giles and Peerless each landed one point for Retief Goosen’s Top 10.

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

The Open Championship produced a surprise winner in Louis Oosthuizen, who had missed the cut in all five majors he had competed in prior. The South African made a killing on the par-four holes by shooting a combined 13-under, five strokes better than the nearest competitor.

In his last five majors, Lee Westwood has four Top Three finishes but has yet to breakthrough with a win. A slight tear in his calf muscle threw off his preparations for St. Andrews but no one could tell based on his results.

Rory McIlroy shot a record-tying 63 in the first round and would have challenged for Claret Jug if not for an 80 on the second day.

Paul Casey opened with duel 69s and a 67 before going off the rails with a 75 on Sunday to squash his slim chances.

My top pick, Tiger Woods, looked fine to start The Open Championship with a 5-under 67 but was unable to shoot another round under par. On Sunday, Woods ditched the new putter but to no avail.

Last week I said Ernie Els was safest play in the field; so much for that. He opened with a 3-under 69 but missed the cut after a 7-over 79. Prior to this week, Els had only missed one Open Championship cut in his career, his first ever start in the event back in 1989.

I knew Padraig Harrington was a risk but his opening rounds of 73 and 77 never gave him a chance to make the cut.

My top sleeper, Simon Dyson finished +1 and T48 while Chris Wood missed the cut.

This week:

St. George’s Golf and Country Club hasn’t hosted the Canadian Open since 1968. The course is setup to stress accuracy and features a challenging set of four final holes. Without the benefit of any past performances to review, the front-runners are the only two players in the field among the Top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

1.  Paul Casey

A shoulder injury derailed Casey’s blistering start to the season but the Englishman has clearly returned to form. In the World Ranking, Casey sits eighth and is 11th or better on Tour in Birdie Average, Eagles, Greens in Regulation and Scoring Average. Coming off a T3 in The Open Championship, Casey has the complete package to win in the Great White North.

2. Luke Donald

If not shooting +1 in the first two rounds of The Open Championship, Donald would have improved greatly on his eventual T11 finish by shooting a pair 3-under 69s in the final two rounds. St. George’s has numerous holes guarded by well-placed bunkers, so Donald’s No. 1 rank in Sand Save Percentage will be very useful. Putting is important on any course and Donald’s 12th-best Putts Per Round should play just fine.

3. Matt Kuchar

The leader in All-Around Ranking should be primed to add another Top 10 to the six he already owns this season. In 17 starts, Kuchar has 12 finishes of 27th or better and enters Canada with three straight such results. The Jack of all trades is 20th in Greens in Regulation and Birdie Average as well as 30th in Driving Accuracy Percentage and Putting Average.

Fantasy Golf Picks

While Erik Planer works on the new Rotoff Fantasy Sports site, I’ll be the guest expert for the next four PGA Tour events. In addition to leading the Beat the Expert Leaderboard for much of the season, I’ve been covering various fantasy sports for the last two years. I’m currently in the 95th percentile in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf game and finished in the 92nd percentile last year. As I hold down the fort, the BTE game will continue to roll on. Here’s the point scale:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 5 picks for the 2010 British Open.  If you Beat The Expert in any week you will win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit (a $9.99 value) with one possible Grand Prize winner at the end of the FedEx Cup season.  See here for official BTE rules.

Four players picked up 10 or more points by picking Steve Stricker in last week’s John Deere Classic. My concerns over Stricker’s health since returning from a clavicle injury steered me wrong and have relegated me to second place. No time is better than a major to rack up some more points.

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

In the first round of the John Deere Classic, Paul Goydos shot a 12-under 59  to become just the fourth player in PGA Tour history to accomplish the feat. Stricker was right on his heels with a first round 60 and would led by seven strokes with 17 hole remaining on Sunday. Goydos moved within two strokes at one point but hit the water on 18 to extinguish his hopes of preventing Stricker’s second straight win at TPC Deere Run.

Vaughn Taylor finished sixth to give him three straight finishes of 11th or better. He won’t be at St. Andrews but will head to the Reno-Tahoe Open where he’s a two-time winner.

My top pick, Zach Johnson, shot all his rounds in the high 60s but finished T21. His eight bogeys and one double bogey kept him from ever challenging.

K.J. Choi missed his first cut in 15 events this season. It was his first time in the John Deere Classic but this result still comes at a big surprise.

Chad Campbell ended his streak of eight straight rounds of sub-70 play at the John Deere with an opening round even 71. He rebounded with a 67 and two rounds of 68 to finish T34.

This week:

As the third major of the year, the Open Championship (aka the British Open) rotates between nine historic courses in Scotland and England. But every five years it comes back home to the Old Course at St. Andrews. The birth place of golf is both loved and hated, often in unison. The nuances of a links course can easily frustrate those unfamiliar with them. The difficult to locate fairways, the thick rough, the hidden pot bunkers, the wind coming off the bay and the revamped No. 17 Road Hole are all standing in the way of the field from hoisting the Claret Jug.

1.  Tiger Woods

Despite the personal turmoil and the nagging reporters that have greeted him in Scotland, Woods is at the best possible site to get that first win of the season. He’s won the Open Championship three times, twice at St. Andrews (‘05, ‘00). While Woods has struggled at times in limited starts this year, his best finishes have come at majors; T4 at both The Masters and the U.S. Open. Also, Woods is going with a new putter this week in hopes of fixing his short game. The comfort from a course he’s been so successful at and the spotlight of playing in another major should allow Tiger to rise to the occasion.

2. Ernie Els

With 12 Top 10s and eight Top Fives in 18 career starts at the Open Championship, Els is among the safest plays this week. At Opens held at St. Andrews, Els finished T11 in ‘95, T2 in ‘00 and T34 in ‘05. Els has two wins this season on the PGA Tour and has finished third in two of his last three starts, the most recent being the U.S. Open. He’s struggled on the European Tour, missing two straight cuts, but is using the extra time to get extra work in at St. Andrews.

3. Padraig Harrington

He’s a two-time winner of the Open Championship but Harrington is still a risky pick. Harrington’s wins came in ‘07 and ‘08 but were not at St. Andrews. Although he does have success there. In ‘02 and ‘06, the Irishman won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which holds two rounds (including the final round) at St. Andrews. Despite some inconsistent play, Harrington has four Top 10 finishes in 13 PGA Tour events this year.

Sleepers (outside World Top 50):  Simon Dyson (Won the ‘09 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, shot a 66 in both rounds at St. Andrews), Chris Wood (T3 in ‘09 Open Championship, T5 in ‘08)

Fantasy Golf Picks

While Erik Planer works on the new Rotoff Fantasy Sports site, I’ll be the guest expert for the next five PGA Tour events. In addition to leading the Beat the Expert Leaderboard, I’ve been covering various fantasy sports for the last two years. I’m currently in the 94th percentile in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf game and finished in the 92nd percentile last year. As I hold down the fort, the BTE game will continue to roll on. Here’s the point scale:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 John Deere Classic.  If you Beat The Expert in any week you will win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit (a $9.99 value) with one possible Grand Prize winner at the end of the FedEx Cup season.  See here for official BTE rules.

Last week’s AT&T National, Cal picked the red-hot Justin Rose and scored 10 points for the win. The rest of field came up empty and returns to clubhouse to regroup. Let’s see how things stand right now:

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

Justin Rose shot an even 70 on Sunday, which turned out to be just enough to hold off a surging Ryan Moore, who’s 5-under 65 left him as the runner-up. If not for blowing the Travelers Championship, Rose would own three straight wins. Still, he’s clearly the hottest golfer in the game right now, even considering the missed opportunity.

Jeff Overton finished two strokes behind Rose to finish third. Overton now has four Top Three finishes in his last eight starts. His performance earned him an invitation to the British Open, which is likely why he withdrew from the John Deere Classic early Tuesday.

Vijay Singh got into the Top 10 to give him three finishes of 13th or better in his last four outings.

I thought I’d squeeze at least a few points out of Sean O’Hair, a member of the Aronimink Golf Club where the AT&T National was hosted. He finished T11th and has finished 12th or 11th in four of his last five starts.

Another assumed points-paying-pick of mine was the hometown favorite, Jim Furyk. He was looking OK until he choked up a 4-over 74 on Sunday and finished T33.

With three Top Fives in four starts and coming off a runner-up performance at the Travelers Championship, Scott Verplank looked like a safe pick. He finished T62 at 8-over and failed to shoot a single round for par or better.

This week:

In last year’s John Deere Classic, Steve Stricker tied a course record with a 10-under 61 during the second round on his way to a three-stroke victory. If not for a clavicle injury that sidelined Stricker eariler this year, he would be my top pick this week. However, Stricker’s best finish in his three starts since returning is T17th at The Memorial Tournament, which he followed up with a 15-over T58 performance in the U.S. Open.

1.  Zach Johnson

As a Midwest guy from nearby Iowa, Johnson always has the crowd behind him in his event. It had never really paid off for him until last year when Johnson tied a tournament-high with 25 birdies and finished as the runner-up. His last four events this year have been uneven, but do contain a win at the  Crowne Plaza Invitational and a T12 in the St. Jude Classic. Johnson came undone during the U.S. Open, but comes to a much easier course that is perfectly suited for him to rebound.

2.  K.J. Choi

Although Choi has never played in this event, he is a very fine choice. With nine sub-70 opening rounds in 14 events, Choi often gets off to a quick start. A 69.85 scoring average puts Choi fourth in that statistic. Choi is very capable of putting together a run strong enough to put him on the private flight to the British Open. Over the last few years, the event organizers have been giving the non-stop charter to the event winner  in order to lure in a stronger field. The travel from the Midwest to the U.K. spans six time zones and keeps many golfers away from the event.

3.  Chad Campbell

Over the last two years, only one golfer has shot all eight combined rounds at the John Deere Classic in the 60s. That man is Campbell. After finishing T29 in the Quail Hollow Championship, Campbell missed three cuts in four tries. However, he’s starting to come around. In the St. Jude Classic, Campbell was only 1-over through three rounds before an ugly 12-over 82 meltdown on Sunday. He recovered with a strong showing in the Travelers Championship, finishing a season-high fifth. Campbell appears to be back in control at just the right time.